Representatives of more than 100 emergency food-service agencies gathered at a conference in Tarrytown Thursday, discussing the need for  government action in reducing hunger in the county. September is “Hunger Action Month.”
This year, the New York City Coalition Against Hunger reported 1.5 million New York City residents live in households facing food insecurity. Keynote speaker Joel Berg, coalition executive director,  said 200,000 people in Westchester County alone are “food insecure.”
“If there’s a problem here in Westchester – middle class America – we can only imagine how big the problem is nationwide,” Berg said.
He said major suburban cities have seen the biggest growth in hunger and poverty in recent years.
“People are priced out of the cities,” Berg said. “They can”™t afford to live there because the housing prices are going up. And many immigrants are moving to the suburbs.”
Without federal funding, emergency food service providers are merely a “bucket brigade” trying to put out a major fire, Berg said. The Farm Bill, which the U.S. Senate passed in June, now awaits the House’s approval. If passed, it would cut $24 billion from current federal spending levels, including about $4.1 billion from food stamps over the next 10 years.
“We need governmental change,” Berg said. “The financial cuts in Westchester dwarf what people are doing to fight back. On Nov. 1, every food stamp recipient in Westchester will get a major cut. It”™s going to be taking away an average  of $30 to $50 from a family of three.”
If the bill is passed, Westchester could face a $141 billion cut in its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program over the next 10 years. The cuts are proportional to the impoverished population in the county, Berg said. Reducing SNAP funding could cost the nation $167 billion per year with a simultaneous increase in the number of people needing health care.
“Support from the federal government is essential,” Berg said. “History proves the government can make a difference. Major national problems can only be solved by national leaders. You should not be left to do the work on your own.”
